ALBERT EVERITT, MM ~ Update No. 3 … Hooray ! … “JEFF” has been found but where on earth is “MUTT” and “DP” ?

Andrew Dare with “Jeff” – Cpl Albert Everitt’s Victory Medal he found and has taken to every Anzac Day parade since finding it. Photo – Tony Everitt

After Medals Reunited NZ first became involved with the research, restoration and return of Cpl. Albert Everitt’s gallantry medal, the Military Medal, which had been dug up some 40 years ago in a Glenfield property, the Passchendaele 100th anniversary memorial service at the Auckland War Memorial Museum on 12 October was the first opportunity the Everitt family, Roger McKinlay (the medal finder) and myself were able to meet each other, and together were able to honour Albert’s memory and bravery.

Kurt Bayer of the NZ Herald covered the story (see below) which was published the following day. As a result of seeing the article, a couple of weeks later Kurt received a call from Andrew Dare also of Auckland – Andrew had a medal he believed also belonging to Cpl. Everitt. I called Andrew who gave me the back story of his find after which I contacted Terry and Tony Everitt – to say they were gobsmacked that another of Albert’s medals had surfaced would be an understatement. Andrew had sent me some photographs of the medal and I confirmed it was the Victory Medal named to: 20979 CPL. A. EVERITT N.Z.E.F. late of the 4th Battalion, NZ Rifle Brigade – 16th Reinforcements. Since then the Everitt brothers and Andrew have been in touch with each other to arrange the return of the medal to Tony and Terry.

The Victory Medal Andrew had unearthed for all its 77+ years under ground, is in remarkable shape given the metal it is made of is easily corroded. The medal is complete with its ribbon suspension ring, and even some of the gold coloured anodising is still very visible. The Victory Medal with its partner medal, the British War Medal, colloquially referred to as ‘Mutt and Jeff’, were issued as a pair to uniformed personnel who had the required service overseas after 1st January 1916 (approx 3.2 million). ‘Pip, Squeak and Alfred’ was the name given to the trio of service medals when the 1914 Star or 1914-15 Star was added to ‘Mutt and Jeff’. These were popular cartoon characters of the day – ‘Pip, Squeak and Alfred’ appeared in the Daily Mirror, and ‘Mutt and Jeff’ originally in the San Francisco Chronicle. Only the British War Medal could be issued on its own – for uniformed service at home.

The recovered Victory Medal will replace the Replica one in Cpl Everitt’s medal group – finding the British War Medal would mean all of the original medals Albert’s mother was presented, would finally be reunited … start digging Auckland !

Kurt Bayer’s latest article of the Everitt medals saga was published on 29 October 2017 in the NZ Herald. Read the full article here:

The Victory Medal will be restored and replace the Replica medal currently mounted with Cpl. Everitt’s restored Military Medal. All that is needed now is to find Cpl. Everitt’s original British War Medal and the Memorial (‘Death’) Plaque his mother was given … if you can help please contact us at: [email protected]